Richard de Nooy

Author's details

Biography

Richard de Nooy (1965) grew up in South Africa and vowed to travel the world. He didn’t get much further than Amsterdam, where he has lived for the past 25 years. He spends his days writing and translating and staring at the sky, trying to guess where the planes are going. He will be mapping his ignorance of the world’s cities from his desk chair, using his preferred mode of transport; the worldwide web. He hopes readers will excuse his ignorance and help fill the vast gaps in his knowledge with entertaining and enlightening anecdotes about their home towns. Richard de Nooy’s novels have been published in English and Dutch. You’ll find further information on his site www.richarddenooy.com. Photo by Stefanie Grätz

Latest posts

  1. My Father and the Sunflowers — May 3, 2013
  2. You Vee Double-You Ex Why Zzzzz — April 12, 2013
  3. Wandering Art — March 29, 2013
  4. “Hey, they all start with T!” — March 15, 2013
  5. Musical masters painting in perfect unison — February 22, 2013

Author's posts listings

28
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:01 comment View Comments

Sometimes I get hopelessly lost looking for answers. Take this delightful decorative door, for example, set in a thick wall upon which the surrounding foliage has projected a superb shadowscape. It isn’t hard to imagine an Indonesian Wayang master using this as a backdrop for a romantic encounter between two shadow puppets. Those may seem… read more »

14
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 15:02 comment View Comments

I have made a startling discovery: while only three KLM destinations begin with the letters I and J – Istanbul, Johannesburg and Jakarta – no fewer than nine destinations begin with the letter K. What’s even more intriguing is that ten KLM destinations begin with L, and twelve begin with M! Conclusion? There must be… read more »

31
Aug
posted by Richard de Nooy at 11:03 comment View Comments

We were driving home from Italy when it began. “So, where should we go next year? Canada? Australia? Namibia?” asked my wife, whose desire to see distant destinations is undiminished, even though she spends almost a third of her life travelling. We spent a hundred kilometres discussing the options as we drove, but we couldn’t… read more »

17
Aug
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:18 comment View Comments

Last week I returned from a wonderful holiday in Switzerland and Italy, rested and rejuvenated, my batteries recharged, chock-full of unused clichés and ideas. In fact, I have so much to blog about, I’m not sure where to start. Should I tell you about Switzerland, which I had previously only ever seen gift-wrapped in ice… read more »

03
Aug
posted by Richard de Nooy at 10:00 comment View Comments
Terra Icognita - no1 - 2

Before I head off on my summer holiday, I’d like to launch a new series called “Terra Incognita”, in which I’ll be needing your help in identifying an “unknown land” on the basis of three photos. This time round the photos were sent to me by my friend Martin Broekhuis, who has abused my body… read more »

20
Jul
posted by Richard de Nooy at 13:30 comment View Comments

Sit up straight! Pay attention! I’ve received distressing reports that some of you have fallen asleep, so it’s time for a wake-up call: the Headmaster’s Where’s-Where Quiz of Cities Starting with H. Listen closely because I will explain this only once. Hey, come back here! Sit down! The concept is simple: I’ll explain the origin… read more »

06
Jul
posted by Richard de Nooy at 10:55 comment View Comments

Sadly, it has taken me five blogs to discover that there’s actually a name for the study of place names, their origin and meaning. The word “toponymy” derives from the Greek words for “place” (tópos) and “name” (ónoma), which is so obvious I can hardly believe the Great Oracle Ogle hasn’t pointed it out before.… read more »